Immediate Ecstasy in the Wes Bender Room

The open and relaxed feel of the orchestral music immediately impressed me upon entry to the Wes Bender Studio room. One showgoer played his demo track of Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, and immediately again, I was overwhelmed by the size these speakers could create yet how relaxed the remained. Music flowed from their pores (and drivers).

But to really put this system to the test, I put on one side one, track one from Syclops’s I’ve Got My Eye On You, a rambunctious, electronic, and jazz-fusion masterpiece of a record, which features live drumming, wild and overflowing synth solos, and infectious bass grooves.

“NR17”, the first track, really kicks in when the bass drum starts to pound on every one, two, three, and four. The Hansen Audio Prince E loudspeakers were fast, spinning the tune into overdrive, with each of those on-the-beat kicks propelling the music forward in a snappy fashion. Bongos bounced from wall to wall. Synthesizers and electronic noises fluttered and zoomed around the room like birds and airplanes. Everyone in the room got wild-eyed, pupils dilated. What exactly is going on here?

Wes Bender’s sales partner, Dan Meinwald, screamed, “If it gets any louder, we’re gonna need some ecstasy!” Well Dan, as far as I could tell, everyone in that room was already rolling.